Carvana Opens Car-Shuffling Glass Tower Off Southwest Boulevard

Southwest Boulevard on downtown’s Westside is known for its funky blend of great Mexican restaurants, Boulevard Brewery, the Roasterie and now, for something completely different, an eight-story glass “car vending machine.”

Carvana is opening its 18th car-vending machine in the country at 1700 W. 29th St. off the Boulevard and its definitely a new, if not better mousetrap, at least when it comes to marketing used vehicles.

Its the next step for Carvana after entering the Kansas City market with its next-day delivery program a year ago, according to a press release from the Phoenix-based company.

“We’ve found that area residents appreciate our new way to buy a car and as we grow our presence in the Midwest, we’re proud to add a car vending machine to Kansas City’s skyline,” Ernie Garcia, founder and CEO of Carvana, said in a statement.

Along with the launch of its car-shuffling vending tower, clearly visible from I-35 as it enters downtown, Carvana also is starting its “as-soon-as-next-day” vehicle delivery service to Topeka.

Each tower holds 27 vehicles that provide a fun pickup experience for customers who purchase a vehicle on Carvana.com, according to the release.

Customers that choose to pick up at the vending machine receive a commemorative, oversized Carvana coin to activate the vending process.
Each Carvana Car Vending Machine holds 27 vehicles. (Photo by Carvana)

In as little as 10 minutes, customers can shop more than 15,000 vehicles on Carvana.com, finance, purchase, trade-in, and schedule as-soon-as-next-day delivery or Car Vending Machine pickup of that vehicle, according to the release.

The firm has grown rapidly and plans to grown from 124 markets to 140-145 markets by the end of the year, according to a recent article in the Phoenix Business Journal.

Customers are allowed to return the cars after seven days if they’re not satisfied. The firm said all the used vehicles it sells have never been in an accident and undergo a rigorous certification process.

People also can sell their current vehicle to Carvana, even if they aren’t purchasing a vehicle, receive a real offer in just minutes and schedule as-soon-as-next-day pickup of that vehicle, according to the release.

The Kansas City Car Vending Machine is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Vehicle pickup at any of Carvana’s Car Vending Machines is free for all Carvana customers.